Dinelia Pabon, a 58-year-old former preschool teacher with asthma, diabetes and other health issues, huddled in her apartment in a Victorian-era house in Spencer, amid boxes she's packing to move as soon as she can get a new place.

At least her electricity and heat were turned back on and replacement windows had recently been installed to keep the wind from blowing in and heat from racing out.

On any given night in the U.S., close to 39,500 military veterans are homeless. Nearly 1,000 of them are in Massachusetts.

These are men and women who have put their lives on the line in the deserts and mountains of Iraq and Afghanistan, and in the jungles of Vietnam. They fought in the Korean War, Panama, Lebanon, and the Persian Gulf. And yet, after all they endured in service to our country, they are sleeping in shelters, and living on the streets or in homeless encampments.

Community Legal Aid is thrilled to announce that Attorney Wendy Berg (Families and Children Unit) was awarded the Massachusetts Council of School Attorneys' (COSA) Direct Service Award for her outstanding work in Hampshire County. Wendy was celebrated at the Annual Award Breakfast on September 16th. She is pictured here with Senator Stan Rosenberg, President of the Massachusetts State Senate. Congratulations, Wendy!

Community Legal Aid attorneys celebrated last night with Attorney General Maura Healey at MLAC’s HomeCorps Homelessness Prevention Project reception. The attorneys work across central and western Mass. to assist homeowners threatened with foreclosure or who have lost their homes to unlawful foreclosures. The project also helps tenants in foreclosed buildings who are facing eviction.

MBA TO PRESENT BOSTON COLLEGE LAW STUDENT $10,000 SCHOLARSHIP

Our friends at Robinson Donovan, a full service law firm in Springfield, are celebrating their 150th anniversary this year. In honor of this milestone, they made a $1,000 donation to Community Legal Aid in support of our work providing free legal services to low-income and elderly residents of central and western Massachusetts. CLA is one of twelve area non-profits to receive a donation.

We are so grateful to Robinson Donovan for their generosity and congratulate them on 150 years of great work!

In collaboration with the Worcester County Food Bank, Community Legal Aid has started the Food Security Outreach Project. This project headed by Attorney Gina Plata-Nino was started to help more eligible families keep their SNAP benefits thus ensuring more families don’t go hungry. Over the past year, many families have lost their SNAP benefits through no fault of their own. In addition, because of a change in state law, a new group of single adults are at risk of losing their SNAP benefits if they are not working.